The present invention relates to ankle braces, and, in particular, to an ankle brace that provides greater comfort and support than braces of the prior art.
Many types of ankle braces are known, including my earlier design, described in U.S. Pat. No. Re. 33,395. That brace provided greater flexibility and comfort than other braces, because it provided pivots on both sides of the brace, which enabled the foot to flex forward and backward while limiting side-to-side motion of the foot relative to the leg in order to protect the injured ankle. That brace had left and right pivot legs, which were intended to lie along the left and right sides of the wearer""s leg, and there were straps which wrapped around the leg to hold the pivot legs together. While the straps provide flexibility of movement, they also stretch and shift, thereby sacrificing some structural support.
Also, in prior art designs, the semi-rigid stirrup encircled the bottom of the foot, interfering with a person""s foot spreading out as he put his weight on the foot, thereby causing irritation and pain. If the stirrup were made wide enough to avoid that problem, it would provide less support to the person""s ankle and might be too wide to fit into the person""s shoe.
The present invention provides the desired front-to-back flexibility of the prior art braces, and, in addition, provides improved structure so that there is additional structural support preventing side-to-side movement of the ankle.
In particular, the preferred embodiment of the present invention provides arms extending from the left and right pivot legs, and these arms are pivotably connected to each other. This pivot connection allows the brace to be adjusted in order to fit a wide variety of people""s foot and leg shapes, resulting in a comfortable brace, while providing more support than prior art designs. The arms, pivoted together, limit the range of motion between the pivot legs while providing the desired flexibility so that the wearer can continue to flex and exercise the ankle while the ankle is protected and supported by the brace.
The present invention also provides a heel stirrup and a tongue, extending forward of the heel stirrup. The heel stirrup surrounds the heel to provide the greatest possible stability while leaving the bottom of the foot, including the arch, free to spread out, so that the stirrup does not impinge on the wearer""s foot.